Numerical Simulation of Freezing Process of Biological Tissues.

Abstract

Numerical simulation of cryopreservation of biological tissues from the view point of heat and mass transfer is carried out to provide a tool for finding optimum combinations of the parameters, such as cryoprotectant mixture concentration and cooling rate. The system considered for the simulation is divided into a number of control volumes, each volume containing several cells. Extra-and intra-cell regions are treated separately. The numerical program calculates distribution of cell size, intracellular concentration of electrolytes and solidification rate of extracellular material during the freezing process. More reliable values of physico-chemical properties such as membrane penetration parameters, and a more precise description of extracellular nucleation phenomena are needed for further development.